Posts tagged “gothic”

When it comes to creating art I am often inspired by Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and I have always had strange conceptual ideas about what an alien species would make of us, the human race. Our traditional Sci-Fi has endeavoured to look at what an alien species may look like or how it would behave towards us (which is usually hostile). Films such as Independence Day or even Mars Attacks! use the pre-conceived notion of an alien species wanting to simply wipe us out.

But lets look at things differently…

What if an alien race wanted to emulate what we had? I mean, here we are on this beautiful planet, one that is in the habitable zone of the Solar System, perfectly set up to host the many different lifeforms that live here. We as a species can experience emotion in the real sense-love, hate, desire, sadness-something that makes us so different to all other life. Are we not a species to be envious of? We certainly think a lot of ourselves and some believe our place in this universe is through design rather than evolutionary steps, so if there is a designer out there somewhere, like all design at some point, wouldn’t and couldn’t this be emulated? And if so, what would the results be like?

The Voyager 1 programme that was launched in 1977 has just entered interstellar space. It is still travelling, and will undoubtedly carry on even after the last scientific instrument is turned off roughly around 2025.

Now lets skip forward, by a few years…..40,000 to be less than precise. Voyager will be travelling within 1.6 light years of the star AC+79 3888, a star in the constellation Camelopardalis. Is it feasible to assume that Voyager may have been picked up by a more advanced (or at least a surviving) species somewhere out there? Or maybe a signal, or another piece of space junk that bears our details could have been found? We have sent multiple craft and signals into space for years and we know that much of this will be travelling outward towards our galactic neighbours over thousands of years. There are no guarantees as to the state of the human race at this point in time (we are doing our best to destroy ourselves as it is) but imagine an alien species picking up this object 40,000 years into the future, that contains important data about who and what we are at this moment in time…..

Now here comes the fantasy part after all I am an artist and creative…..lets assume that species has not evolved (or dare I say it, evolved out of) the traditional human characteristic that is emotion. They cannot love, hate, be sad, empathise-in short they cannot be human. What if they wanted to emulate this? How would they simulate something we value so much? Would they get it wrong? Would they fall at the first hurdle? Or would they succeed-like so many laboratories across the globe do now in experiments that aim to understand the animal kingdom?

This is what I am exploring with my new series of art. Over the next few months I shall release various pieces that explore the concept further and give a glimpse into both the horrors and the beauty of this situation actually happening. It is a slightly different direction with my art, but one nonetheless that encompasses my style and the darker side to my creative vision. I’d really like to know what you all think of this….you could just ignore the concept and take pleasure from the art itself, or you could discuss the idea further (any authors/poets/musicians out there who want to get in touch, please do!) but please, do not bombard me with science and the “that’s not possible because…”. I am a keen astronomer and know the scientific limitations to the idea, but it is purely fiction and I’d like to think that the idea say’s a lot about who we are and our place in the universe…..

It seems to have been a while since I last posted…….I assure you I have been very busy and January has not allowed me the rest I so deserve! I have been working on new art which moves away slightly from the current theme….of course, the work will be as dark as ever!

An exciting bit of news for you is that I will be having some work featured in Propulsion Magazine which is a great publication dedicated to bringing you the best in art, fashion, and music…all with a dark twist! Check out the cover, with my name on it! I am totally stoked about this one, and must thank the editors of Propulsion Magazine for giving me the opportunity to showcase my work.

I have added new work to the galleries….here are a few select pieces for your pleasure…..

Go check out the galleries for further work which will be updated on a daily basis this week. Yes I have removed the watermark….after receiving feedback it seemed the best thing to do. Of course, I have lowered the quality of the work for internet publication to avoid the obvious thieving that can occur, but the images are still clear enough to give a good representation of what I do. I am still contemplating re-jigging all of the uploaded work and removing the watermarks……any thoughts?

My Facebook page has reached the dizzy heights of 2000 followers or thereabouts. It is great to have the support and love for what I do, it spurs me on to create more and know that the path I have chosen in life is a worthy one……My Twitter page is looking a bit lacklustre, but then again, it is hard to maintain the social networks…I have been kinder and more attentive to the Facebook page. I don’t want to spread myself too thinly so I have limited myself to these three outlets for my work-Facebook is the page I will update first but the galleries on this site will be the place to go for my comprehensive body of work. There is the issue with censorship as well-Facebook is happy to host a beheading video but a slight areola shot will see you in the stocks! Why don’t you drop on by and like my page? Share your blog or page with me and I’ll take a look and return the kindness….a network of artists and creative individuals is a behemoth that could take over the world…or paint it, one or the other…..

In the meantime, keep your eyes on the site…..there will be some interesting work uploaded soon…..

Hello all, I have just added a Links page. I am willing to share your page/blog or website, assuming its relevance of course-fairydustcupcakes.com is unlikely to reach its target audience on here! So feel free to contact me with a link and if you have a banner, I will be willing to put this up too……

I have added new work to the galleries, including a piece called “Iona”. This is different to my other work but it is still dark. I haven’t changed direction with my style, but was asked to produce this piece and I thought it would be nice to show it here.

Iona

Method to the Madness

I have been asked how I produce these pieces, what methods are involved and what particular software I use. To answer those questions, I use every method available to me! I always start off with photography. If I have a concept in my head I will take a walk through a wood, on a beach or even just around the house. I will capture as many images as the memory card or battery allows! It may be a texture, an object, a person, myself in the mirror….there really are no limitations. Sometimes I will arrange a photoshoot with a model, and take it from there. I will collate the images and edit the decent ones. This is where it can take the longest amount of time. Dependant on the concept I may narrow it down to 30 or so images that I wish to use. Again, dependant on the concept, I may choose to paint a texture on canvas using oils or acrylics. This will then require scanning in to amalgamate with the final design. I then use digital editing software (usually Photoshop) to construct the design. This process can reveal horrible deficiencies in the selected images and it may be that I have to venture out with my camera or paint a further texture. I try to begin with a concept before I even start working digitally, but sometimes the chosen path changes and I create something totally different. Through blending the images I create a rough visual of what I am trying to achieve. I also use digital tools to paint sections in, and tidy up various areas. I like to “grunge” up my art, and often look for further textures to add depth at the end. Of course, there are no rules to creating art, and despite what I have just said, I don’t always follow this plan-but this gives a general outline to the creation o a Dark Soul Art piece.

I’ve just literally finished this new piece, based on the Finnish forest God Tapio-a giver of life who kept the woods rich with game. Hunter’s would pray to him before a hunt so that their take would be rich with food. However, Tapio had a dark side, and would smother people to death. He is seen as the giver of abundance who claims mankind into him at the end. This piece does not resemble the typical images of Tapio, and to that end it is “based” on the myth. I played around with a form that was fused from plant and human, while at the same time, encompassing an animal spirit.